Madame Rejane 1894

Aubrey Beardsley drew Madame Rejane using ink on paper. Notice how the elaborate costume seems to swallow the figure of Rejane, enveloping her in a cocoon of fabric. This motif of clothing as a transformative and concealing force is recurrent in art history. Think of the heavy robes of medieval monarchs, designed to project power and conceal the individual beneath. The clothing here serves a similar purpose, yet the focus is not on the wearer's status, but on the power of image itself. The image's power lies in its ability to evoke intense emotional states through relatively simple means. The stark lines and the dramatic contrast between light and shadow engage viewers on a subconscious level. The gaze is drawn to the subject's face, the only part of the body that has been drawn with high detail, which can be seen throughout classical and renaissance portraiture. The image presents a cyclical progression of symbolic representation in portraiture.